If you think this is spam, we need to talk

Someone unsubscribed from this list with the reason “spam“. Coincidentally, someone else said my content was “egotistical“ the same day.

This bothered me, because I don’t send spam.

Every single email I send out to you guys is intended to be helpful and inspiring. Sure, I often put links to products I’m selling, but these are certainly not unsolicited commercial emails.

Still, it made me wonder…am I clearly offering helpful advice?

So, I decided to take a look at the last 10 emails I’ve sent out to see if there are indeed helpful tips in them.

Here’s what I found:

1. Here’s Some Great Advice I Got

(The tip: To prevent anxiety from messing up your life, stop fighting the anxiety.)

2. No, Meditation’s Not Supposed To Be Easy

(The tip: Why you need to persist through the difficulties in meditation.)

3. This Email Might Worry Your Mind

(The tip: To make tasks easier, explore your ability to disobey your mind.)

4. Why I Don’t Believe Life Is Supposed To Be Good And Why That Attitude Just Makes It Hard

(The tip: How to prevent situations from becoming worse than they need to be.)

5. Who Wins In A Fight: Meditators Or Non-Meditators?

(The tip: Be specific about what benefits you’re expecting awareness and equanimity to bring to your life.)

6. Why I Don’t “Focus” While Meditating

(The tip: Why trying too hard to focus in meditation is counterproductive and what to do instead.)

7. Five Mistakes That Even Serious Meditators Make

(The tip: A handful of things you can stop doing in meditation that are just making it more frustrating for you.)

8. Top 10 Meditation Resources

(The tip: Essential tools that I’ve found useful.)

9. These 3 Ingredients In The Kitchen Will Let You Move On To The Next Thing Quickly

(The tip: Why the folk wisdom about mental health only leads to more stress.)

10. Why Technique Vs. Interpretation Is The WRONG Debate

(The tip: Exactly how trying too hard to learn a skill sets you up for crippling perfectionism.)

So…yeah. These sound like helpful tips to me.

I’m not sure how anyone could read it otherwise.

And now for the “spammy, salesly” part of the email: I think you would benefit from my No Problem meditation course. It will teach you how to incorporate the above wisdom into your own life.

—Michael